Hurricane Melissa, at Category 5, is Set to Slam Into Jamaica as Island’s Strongest Recorded Storm
Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a Category 5 monster Monday as it closed in on Jamaica, threatening the island with catastrophic flooding, landslides, and coastal destruction. The National Hurricane Center confirmed Melissa is the strongest storm ever recorded to make landfall in Jamaica, with sustained winds reaching 160 mph (260 kph).
The storm has already claimed six lives across the northern Caribbean, leaving behind wreckage in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Melissa is forecast to strike Jamaica on Tuesday, then move over Cuba later in the day before tracking toward the Bahamas.
Mandatory evacuations were issued in at least seven flood-prone communities, with buses moving residents to shelters. Jamaican officials have stressed that the storm’s slow crawl—just 3 mph westward—means prolonged exposure to torrential rain and deadly storm surge.
“I want to urge Jamaicans to take this seriously,” said Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council. “Do not gamble with Melissa. It’s not a safe bet.”
Even in the capital city of Kingston, where the island’s main airport and power plants sit near the coast, forecasters warn of storm surges up to 13 feet (4 meters).
Kingston resident Hanna Mcleod, 23, said she boarded her home’s windows and stocked up on candles and flashlights before heading to work. “I just told them to keep the door closed,” she said. “I am definitely worried. This is actually the first time I’ll be experiencing this type of hurricane.”
She laughed nervously as she shared her storm prep: “I bought my favorite canned food, corned beef—but my family prefers mackerel, so I got a lot of those.”
According to AccuWeather’s chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter, the storm threatens to become a “true humanitarian crisis.” With Jamaica’s critical infrastructure positioned along the coast, Porter warned that international aid may be needed immediately after landfall.
“This can become a true humanitarian crisis very quickly,” Porter said.
Meteorologists noted that Melissa will be Jamaica’s first Category 5 hurricane since records began in 1851. The last major storms to threaten the island—Hurricanes Gilbert, Ivan, and Beryl—were Category 3 and 4 systems that either weakened or veered off before direct landfall.
Melissa has already damaged more than 750 homes and displaced over 3,700 people in the Dominican Republic. In Haiti, at least three deaths were reported, along with widespread crop destruction in regions already suffering from food insecurity affecting nearly six million people.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warned that continued flooding “is obstructing access to farmland and markets, jeopardizing harvests and the winter agricultural season.”
As Jamaica braces for impact, Cuba’s eastern provinces—Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and Holguín—are under hurricane warnings, with rainfall expected to reach 20 inches in some areas.
A hurricane watch is also in effect for the southeastern and central Bahamas, as well as the Turks and Caicos Islands, where residents are preparing for dangerous surf and flooding later this week.
